“This talk is for anyone interested in the history of Christmas in America. The Pennsylvania-Dutch introduced many holiday traditions to our popular culture,” Joseph Garrera, executive director of the Museum, said.

In the 1700s and early 1800s, many Pennsylvanians did not celebrate Christmas. Some churches at that time did not celebrate the holiday because its traditions had pagan origins.

For Pennsylvania-Germans who settled the Lehigh Valley, Christmas was a religious holiday with other folk traditions attached to it. These included decorating Christmas trees, a magical Christmas gift-giver, and eating poultry for Christmas dinner.